“Horse and Carriage – is for hire.” MASE.

Hey Hansom

In 1640, Nicolas Sauvage, a French businessman, started the first carriage-for-hire service on the streets of Paris. But it wasn’t until Joseph Hansom – yes, he had quite the last name to live up to - an architect from York, England, patented his design for horse and carriage that the service really became viable in 1834.

Hansom’s design wasn’t perfect but many subsequent developers and designers built on it to come up with a workable solution. The resulting carriage, a two-wheeled compartment with a chauffeur seated behind the cab, could easily weave through ever-growing traffic upon London’s busy streets.

Brandon’s Kind of Hansom

Ed W. Brandon, an otherwise unknown businessman, organized his own Hansom Cab company in Manhattan in 1869. He and his partners set up shop at 133 Water Street, offering rides between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The fare started at 30 cents (about $5.10 today) for a single person traveling up to a mile and 40 cents (Almost $7 in 2013) for two people.

Throughout the late 1800s, these Hansom Cabs became the most popular form of for-hire transportation in the city. But it wouldn’t last long.

The Cab Without The Horse

In 1897, a new cab company opened in New York City. Samuel’s Electric Carriage and Wagon Company (SECWC) operated 12 electric hansom cabs for hire around the city. Over the next year, the fleet would grow to 62.

A fire in 1907 that destroyed much of the SECWC fleet would allow horse-drawn cabs to have a brief revival. But Harry N. Allen, a local New Yorker and businessman decided to end that when he was charged an,...